Copper Problem Solved. Or is it?

Here in Columbus a new law has been enacted so anyone dropping off scrap metal must have ID checked, etc.  The new regulations stem, in large part, from all of the break ins where thieves strip copper pipe from vacant homes and sell it to fund their crack habit.

No matter what you did, they got in.  Lock it, board it, put a dog in it.  They still got in and stole your pipes.

The cost to fix this problem ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand.  Most people replaced the pipe with PVC.

In the last week, I have had 3 outdoor A/C systems stolen.  What are they doing, stripping them for parts?  Is the new scrap yard the nearest HVAC contractor?

Newsflash !!  This is more expensive than the pipe.  According to the HVAC contractor I have been using for years, the new A/C systems are not compatible with the old (more than 3 years) furnaces.  Yes, there are repair parts available, but installing whole units isn't going to work right.

So out of the frying pan and into the fire.  Cost of new AC + Furnace = $2500 +/-.

Great.  Landlords and owners be advised this is starting to be a problem.

Anyone know where I can get a PVC AC system????

 
Posted by Rich Kruse on 08/03/2007 08:24 AM   Comments (7)   , , ,  
Post is included in group: You've GOT to be kidding
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7 Comments on Copper Problem Solved. Or is it?

There was an article about this in The Washington Post the other week -- amazing to think that thieves are actually going around stealing copper pipes -- also some manhole covers, etc.  Absurd what some people will do for a buck!

08/03/2007 08:29 AM by Brian Block -- Northern Virginia & D.C. Real Estate (RE/MAX Allegiance)

I know what you are going through Rich.  We have seen a rise in copper thieves in our area too.  I don't know of any PVC systems for heating and A/C.  It seems that one of the big manufacturers out there would have come up with something like already.

David Wakeman

08/03/2007 08:57 AM by Brenda & David Wakeman (RE/MAX Classic Realty Group)

Rich

They also stealing the ground wire off of telephone poles.

Check the ground wire at the exterior of your properties.

08/03/2007 09:10 AM by Mike Parks RBO, ESI, MHI (Residential Building Inspectors)

There was an article in our paper many months ago about meth addicts who broke into a power transfer station, turned off the power--so they thought--and tried to steel wire.  The police showed up before they touched the live wires and fried themselves.  Is it unchristian to say too bad?

Fran

08/03/2007 09:53 AM by Fran Gatti - Crescent City CA Real Estate (RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods)

It certainly makes one wonder how or why someone would put a chemical in their body they had to do such crazy things to support the habit.  This drug is causing so many issues in our country - there has to be a better way to stop it....

08/03/2007 01:27 PM by Central Oregon Real Estate | Thesa Chambers, Broker (RE/MAX Sunset Realty La Pine)

Rich, I just found out this morning that some one stole the garage door on one of my vacant listings! Just took it down and took it away. In the middle of a residential neighborhood. You'd think the neigbors would have noticed. Another one that happens quite frequently is...pool pumps and heaters. I guess they just reinstall them some where else.

08/03/2007 05:56 PM by Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc

Brian - Whn metal is easy to scrap, they will take about anything.

David - Hopefully copper theft here will slow.

Mike - That would be about 4 incehs of wire?  How much can you get for that?  WOW

Fran - Problem was ALMOST solved there, Huh?

Thesa - I remember some American kid was caned about 10 years ago in China on a drug charge.  Here we send them to a rehab center.

Bertha - I had the same thing happen with replacement windows.  Neighbors didn't do a thing.

08/04/2007 06:50 AM by Rich Kruse (Gryphon USA, Ltd.)

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Real Estate Agent: Rich Kruse (Gryphon USA, Ltd.)
Rich Kruse
Columbus, OH
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Gryphon USA, Ltd.

Office Phone: (614) 885-0020 Ext.: 17
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A lighthearted yet informative look at the real estate and asset sale professions. Gryphon services clients sale and management problems with creative and sometimes extremely aggressive solutions. Primarily a servicer for sellers, Gryphon's professional do also assist investor/ developer buyers with acquisition transactions where the company sometiems participates as a principal.

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